1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to disposable child toilet seat adapters which facilitate a toddler's use of public and other unfamiliar toilets and provide a clean seating surface.
For many, the prospect of using a public toilet is an unpleasant one. Thoughts of how many strangers have used the toilet before, and when and how well it was last cleaned, are enough to make some people do extraordinary things to avoid the experience. In addition, when a child needs to use the restroom, they generally can't wait. Exacerbating the foregoing general concern are the additional difficulties arising because public toilet seats are generally designed for adults, and children simply don't “fit” so well.
2. Description of Prior Art
Most toilets, including most public toilets are designed for use by adults. Small children who have learned to use toilets must generally be held on or over the seat. In addition to the size issue, the use of public and other unfamiliar toilets also involves the potential risk of infection, disease or contact with filth if the available toilet has not been cleaned adequately, or at all, since its last uses. This potential condition also suggests the need for some clean barrier between the user and the toilet. While products such as paper seat covers are often provided for such purpose, they are designed to fit the adult-sized toilet and provide little protection for a smaller child. In addition, the tendency of such temporary barriers to move and shift is undesirable and creates risks of contamination not present with a more stable barrier.
Several inventions have described disposable and non-disposable child or infant toilet seat adapters. These are identified and briefly described below:
1. U.S. Pat. No. 2,548,238 issued to Potts et. al. on Apr. 10, 1951 for “AUXILIARY TOILET SEAT”.
2. U.S. Pat. No. 2,716,244 issued to Wendel on Aug. 30, 1955 for “TOILET SEAT ADAPTOR”.
3. U.S. Pat. No. 2,825,070 issued to Alexander on Mar. 4, 1958 for “DISPOSABLE INFANT'S TOILET SEAT”.
The devices of the prior art suffer from either not being disposable, from involving set-up procedures which are too cumbersome or complex, from having inadequate means for keeping the device in place on the toilet, and/or from failing to provide a position for the toddler's hands, which would otherwise be inclined to grasp the sides of the toilet, which are potentially contaminated with filth.
In addition to the above prior art, the following prior art patents are also relevant:
1. U.S. Pat. No. 1,582,527 issued to Marks on Apr. 27, 1926 for “SAFETY TOILET SEAT COVER”. This device discloses the concept of side flaps which may be put under the seat to secure the disposable seat to the toilet. However, they involve an extensive amount of material under the toilet seat which will make it cumbersome and more difficult for a child to sit on the seat. In addition, the material is made out of flimsy paper which is not substantial enough to support the weight of a child and not substantial enough to firmly hold the disposable seat on the toilet.
2. U.S. Pat. No. 1,522,699 issued to Reid on Jan. 13, 1925 for “TOILET SEAT COVER”. This device basically has surrounding rims which enable the toilet seat to be wedged around the rim but in fact do not securely hold the toilet seat cover on the toilet seat.
3. U.S. Pat. No. 6,473,911 B2 issued on Nov. 5, 2002 to Weiss for “DISPOSABLE, COMPACT, PORTABLE TODDLER-SIZE TOILET SEAT PROTECTOR”. This device is also a toilet seat cover but has side flaps and front flaps which serve to wedge the front portion of the toilet seat between them. However, this is not a secure and stable way to assure that the toilet seat will remain on the toilet. In addition, the Weiss device has a large amount of folding that needs to be created before the disposable toilet seat cover is operational which makes it impractical for a parent to assemble while an impatient child is waiting to eliminate.
All of the above prior art patents lack the concept of having a handle by which the child can firmly grasp onto the toilet seat and remain on the toilet seat during the process of eliminating. In addition, none of these devices have a proper secure way of assuring that the toilet cover will be firmly held on the toilet seat while the child is moving around on the toilet seat during the process of elimination. There is a significant need for a new and improved disposable toilet seat cover with these improved features.